The folk-tales in this volume, which were collected in the Philippinesduring the years from 1908 to 1914, have not appeared in printbefore. They are given to the public now in the hope that they will beno mean or uninteresting addition to the volumes of Oriental Maerchenalready in existence. The Philippine archipelago, from the very natureof its geographical position and its political history, cannot but be asignificant field to the student of popular stories. Lying as it doesat the very doors of China and Japan, connected as it is ethnicallywith the Malayan and Indian civilizations, Occidentalized as it hasbeen for three centuries and more, it stands at the junction of Eastand West. It is therefore from this point of view that these taleshave been put into a form convenient for reference. Their importanceconsists in their relationship to the body of world fiction.

The language in which these stories are presented is the languagein which they were collected and written down,--English. Perhapsno apology is required for not printing the vernacular herewith;nevertheless an explanation might be made. In the first place,the object in recording these tales has been a literary one, not alinguistic one. In the second place, the number of distinctly differentlanguages represented by the originals might be baffling even to thereader interested in linguistics, especially as our method of approachhas been from the point of view of cycles of stories, and not from thepoint of view of the separate tribes telling them. In the third place,the form of prose tales among the Filipinos is not stereotyped; andthere is likely to be no less variation between two Visayan versionsof the same story, or between a Tagalog and a Visayan, than betweenthe native form and the English rendering. Clearly Spanish would notbe a better medium than English: for to-day there is more English thanSpanish spoken in the Islands; besides, Spanish never penetrated intothe very lives of the peasants, as English penetrates to-day by wayof the school-house. I have endeavored to offset the disadvantagesof the foreign medium by judicious and painstaking directions to myinformants in the writing-down of the tales. Only in very rare caseswas there any modification of the original version by the teller,as a concession to Occidental standards. Whatever substitutions Ihave been able to detect I have removed. In practically every case,not only to show that these are bona fide native stories, but alsoto indicate their geographical distribution, I have given the nameof the narrator, his native town, and his province. In many cases Ihave given, in addition, the source of his information. I am firmlyconvinced that all the tales recorded here represent genuine Filipinotradition so far as the narrators are concerned, and that nothinghas been "manufactured" consciously.

But what is "native," and what is "derived"? The folklore of thewild tribes--Negritos, Bagobos, Igorots--is in its way no more"uncontaminated" than that of the Tagalogs, Pampangans, Zambals,Pangasinans, Ilocanos, Bicols, and Visayans. The traditions ofthese Christianized tribes present as survivals, adaptations,modifications, fully as many puzzling and fascinating problems asthe popular lore of the Pagan peoples. It should be remembered,that, no matter how wild and savage and isolated a tribe may be,it is impossible to prove that there has been no contact of thattribe with the outside civilized world. Conquest is not necessaryto the introduction of a story or belief. The crew of a Portuguesetrading-vessel with a genial narrator on board might conceivably bea much more successful transmitting-medium than a thousand praos fullof brown warriors come to stay. Clearly the problem of analyzing andtracing the story-literature of the Christianized tribes differs onlyin degree from that connected with the Pagan tribes. In this volumeI have treated the problem entirely from the former point of view,since there has been hitherto a tendency to neglect as of small valuethe stories of the Christianized peoples. However, for illustrativematerial I have drawn freely on works dealing with the non-Christiantribes, particularly in the case of stories that appear to be native;and I shall use the term "native" to mean merely "existent in theIslands before the Spaniards went there."

In the notes, I have attempted to answer for some of the tales thequestion as to what is native and what imported. I have not beenable to reach a decision in the case of all, because of a lack ofsufficient evidence. While the most obvious sources of importationfrom the Occident have been Spain and Portugal, the possibilityof the introduction of French, Italian, and even Belgian storiesthrough the medium of priests of those nationalities must not beoverlooked. Furthermore, there is a no inconsiderable number of Basquesailors to be found on the small inter-island steamers that connectone end of the archipelago with the other. Even a very cursory glanceat the tales in this collection reveals the fact that many of themare more or less close variants and analogues of tales distributedthroughout the world. How or when this material reached the Philippinesis hard to say. The importation of Arabian stories, for example,might have been made over many routes. The Hindoo beast-tales, too,might have quite circled the globe in their progress from east to west,and thus have been introduced to the Filipinos by the Spaniards andPortuguese. Again, the germs of a number of widespread Maerchen may haveexisted in the archipelago long before the arrival of the Europeans,and, upon the introduction of Occidental civilization and culture,have undergone a development entirely consistent with the developmentthat took place in Europe, giving us as a result remarkably closeanalogues of the Western tales. This I suspect to have been the caseof some of our stories where, parallel with the localized popularversions, exist printed romances (in the vernacular) with the mediaevalflavor and setting of chivalry. To give a specific case: the Visayans,Bicols, and Tagalogs in the coast towns feared the raids of MindanaoMussulmans long before white feet trod the shores of the Islands, andmany traditions of conflicts with these pirates are embedded in theirlegends. The Spaniard came in the sixteenth century, bringing withhim stories of wars between Christians and Saracens in Europe. Oneresult of this close analogy of actual historical situation was, Ibelieve, a general tendency to levelling: that is, native traditionsof such struggles took on the color of the Spanish romances; Spanishromances, on the other hand, which were popularized in the Islands,were very likely to be "localized." A maximum of caution and aminimum of dogmatism, then, are imperative, if one is to treat at allscientifically the relationship of the stories of a composite peoplelike the Filipinos to the stories of the rest of the world.

A word might be added as to the nature of the tales. I have includedonly "hero tales, serious and droll," beast stories and fables,and pourquoi or "just-so" stories. Myths, legends, and fairy-tales(including all kinds of spirit and demon stories) I have purposelyexcluded, in order to keep the size of the volume within reasonablelimits. I have, however, occasionally drawn upon my manuscriptcollection of these types to illustrate a native superstition orcustom.

Columbia University,

May, 1918.

Contents.

I. HERO TALES AND DROLLS.1. (a) Suan's Good Luck 1 (b) Suan Eket 22. The Charcoal-Maker who became King 103. The Story of Carancal 174. (a) Suac and his Adventures 29 (b) The Three Friends,--the Monkey, the Dog, and the Carabao 315. (a) How Suan became Rich 35 (b) The King's Decisions 376. (a) The Four Blind Brothers 42 (b) Juan the Blind Man 43 (c) Teofilo the Hunchback, and the Giant 46 (d) Juan and the Buringcantada 47 (e) The Manglalabas 497. (a) Sagacious Marcela 53 (b) King Tasio 558. (a) The Story of Zaragoza 64 (b) Juan the Peerless Robber 699. The Seven Crazy Fellows 7510. (a) Juan Manalaksan 79 (b) Juan the Poor, who became Juan the King 8111. (a) Lucas the Strong 89 (b) Juan and his Six Companions 92 (c) The Story of King Palmarin 9812. (a) The Three Brothers 116 (b) Three Brothers of Fortune 118 (c) Pablo and the Princess 120 (d) Legend of Prince Oswaldo 12213. (a) The Rich and the Poor 137 (b) Lucas the Rope-Maker 14014. (a) The King and the Dervish 144 (b) The Mysterious Book 14515. The Miraculous Cow 150

16. The Clever Husband and Wife 15217. The Three Brothers 15518. Juan and his Adventures 17119. Juan wearing a Monkey's Skin 17820. (a) How Salaksak became Rich 183 (b) Clever Juan and Envious Diego 186 (c) Ruined because of Invidiousness 188 (d) The Two Friends 190 (e) Juan the Orphan 19221. Is he the Crafty Ulysses? 19722. The Reward of Kindness 20723. Pedro and Satan 21124. The Devil and the Guachinango 21425. Juan Sadut 22326. An Act of Kindness 22727. The Indolent Husband 23128. Cecilio, the Servant of Emilio 23729. Chonguita 24430. The Golden Lock 24831. Who is the Nearest Relative? 25732. With One Centavo Juan marries a Princess 26233. (a) The Three Humpbacks 265 (b) The Seven Humpbacks 26734. (a) Respect Old Age 271 (b) The Golden Rule 27135. Cochinango 27636. Pedro and the Witch 27937. The Woman and her Coles Plant 28538. A Negrito Slave 28739. Alberto and the Monsters 29140. Juan and Maria 29541. The Enchanted Prince 30142. The Prince's Dream 30443. The Wicked Woman's Reward 30944. The Magic Ring 31045. (a) Maria and the Golden Slipper 314 (b) Abadeja 31646. Juan the Poor 31947. The Fate of an Envious Woman 32348. (a) The Monkey and Juan Pusong Tambi-Tambi 326 (b) Andres the Trapper 33249. Juan the Fool 338

50. Juan and his Painted Hat 35351. Juan and Clotilde 35552. The Poor Man and his Three Sons 35953. The Denied Mother 36154. Tomarind and the Wicked Datu 363II. FABLES AND ANIMAL STORIES.55. The Monkey and the Turtle (three versions) 36656. The Monkey and the Crocodile (two versions) 37457. The Monkeys and the Dragon-Flies 37958. The Monkey, the Turtle, and the Crocodile 38259. The Iguana and the Turtle 38360. (a) The Trial among the Animals 385 (b) The Pugu's Case 386 (c) Why Mosquitoes hum and try to get into the Holes of our Ears 387 (d) A Tyrant 38861. The Greedy Crow 39162. The Humming-Bird and the Carabao 39363. The Camanchile and the Passion 39464. Auac and Lamiran 395III. "JUST-SO" STORIES.65. Why the Ant is not so Venomous as the Snake 39866. Why Locusts are Harmful 39967. How Lansones became Edible 40168. Why Cocks fight One Another 40369. Why Bats fly at Night 40470. Why the Sun shines more brightly than the Moon 40471. (a) Why the Culing has a Tonsure 407 (b) The Culeto and the Crow 407 (c) The Hawk and the Coling 40872. (a) Why the Cow's Skin is Loose on the Neck 410 (b) The First Loose-Skinned Cow and the First Tight-Skinned Carabao 41173. Why the Monkey is Wise 41274. (a) The Lost Necklace 414 (b) The Cock and the Sparrow-Hawk 41575. The Story of our Fingers 41676. Why Snails climb up Grass 41777. Why the Cuttlefish and Squids produce a Black Liquid 41978. Why Cocks have Combs on their Heads 420

79. (a) How the Crow became Black 420 (b) Why the Crow is Black 421 (c) The Dove and the Crow 42280. Why the Ocean is Salty 42581. (a) Why the Sky is Curved 426 (b) Why the Sky is High 42682. An Unequal Match; or, Why the Carabao's Hoof is split 428

Filipino Stories given in the Notes.

[Only stories from my own manuscript collection are listed here. Titlesof those given in full are printed in Roman; of those given merelyin abstract, in Italics. A "(C)" after a title indicates that thestory is taken from one of the native corridos, or metrical romancesprinted in the vernacular.]

DUNLOP, JOHN COLIN. History of Fiction. Edited by H. WILSON. 2vols. London, 1896.

EVANS, IVOR H. N. Folk Stories of the Tempassuk and Tuaran Districts,British North Borneo (in the Journal of the Royal AnthropologicalInstitute of Great Britain and Ireland, 43 [1913]: 422-479). (CitedEvans.)

Tibetan Tales. Translated from the Tibetan of the Kah-Gyur by F. ANTONVON SCHIEFNER. Done into English from the German, with an Introduction,by W. R. S. RALSTON. London, 1882. (Cited Ralston 2.)

Tootinameh; or Tales of a Parrot. Persian text with Englishtranslation. Calcutta, 1792.

WALDAU, A. Boehmisches Maerchenbuch. Prag, 1860.

WARDROP, M. Georgian Folk Tales. London, 1894.

WEBSTER, WENTWORTH. Basque Legends. London (2d ed.), 1879.

WRATISLAW, A. H. Sixty Slavonic Folk-Tales. Boston, 1890.

WUK. Volksmaerchen der Serben. Berlin, 1854.

FILIPINO POPULAR TALES

PART I

Hero Tales and Drolls.

TALE 1

Suan's Good Luck.

Narrated by Macaria Garcia. The story is popular among the Pampangans.

There was once an old woman who had an only son named Suan. [2] Suanwas a clever, sharp-witted boy. His mother sent him to school. Insteadof going to school, however, Suan climbed up the tree that stood bythe roadside. As soon as his mother had passed by from the market,Suan hurried home ahead of her. When she reached home, he cried,"Mother, I know what you bought in the market to-day." He then toldher, article by article. This same thing happened so repeatedly,that his mother began to believe in his skill as a diviner.

One day the ring of the datu's [3] daughter disappeared. All the peoplein the locality searched for it, but in vain. The datu called forvolunteers to find the lost ring, and he offered his daughter's handas a prize to the one who should succeed. Suan's mother heard of theproclamation. So she went to the palace and presented Suan to the datu.

"Well, Suan, to-morrow tell me where the ring is," said the datu.

"Yes, my lord, I will tell you, if you will give your soldiers overto me for to-night," Suan replied.

"You shall have everything you need," said the datu.

That evening Suan ordered the soldiers to stand around him in asemicircle. When all were ready, Suan pointed at each one of them,and said, "The ring is here, and nowhere else." It so happened thatSuan fixed his eyes on the guilty soldier, who trembled and becamepale. "I know who has it," said Suan. Then he ordered them to retire.

Late in the night this soldier came to Suan, and said, "I will getthe ring you are in search of, and will give it to you if you willpromise me my safety."

"Give it to me, and you shall be safe," said Suan.

Very early the next morning Suan came to the palace with a turkey inhis arms. "Where is the ring?" the datu demanded. "Why, sir, it is inthis turkey's intestines," Suan replied. The turkey was then killed,and the ring was found inside it.

"You have done very well, Suan. Now you shall have my daughter's hand,"said the datu. So Suan became the princess's husband.

One day the datu proposed a bet with any one who wished to proveSuan's skill. Accordingly another datu came. He offered to bet sevencascos [4] of treasure that Suan could not tell the number of seedsthat were in his orange. Suan did not know what to do. At midnighthe went secretly to the cascos. Here he heard their conversation,and from it he learned the number of seeds in the orange.

Hoping to recover his loss, the datu came again. This time he hadwith him fourteen cascos full of gold. He asked Suan to tell himwhat was inside his golden ball. Suan did not know what to say. Soin the dead of night he went out to the cascos, but he could learnnothing there. The next morning Suan was summoned into the presenceof the two datus. He had no idea whatever as to what was in the ball;so he said scornfully, "Nonsense!"

"That is right, that is right!" shouted a man. "The ball contains ninecents." Consequently Suan won the fourteen cascos full of gold. Fromnow on, nobody doubted Suan's merit.

Suan Eket.

Narrated by Manuel Reyes, a Tagalog from Rizal province. He heardthe story from his grandfather.

Many years ago there lived in the country of Campao a boy namedSuan. While this boy was studying in a private school, it was saidthat he could not pronounce the letter x very well--he called it"eket." So his schoolmates nick-named him "Suan Eket."

Finally Suan left school, because, whenever he went there, the otherpupils always shouted at him, "Eket, eket, eket!" He went home,and told his mother to buy him a pencil and a pad of paper. "I amthe wisest boy in our town now," said he.

One night Suan stole his father's plough, and hid it in a creek neartheir house. The next morning his father could not find his plough.

"What are you looking for?" said Suan.

"My plough," answered his father.

"Come here, father! I will guess where it is." Suan took his pencil anda piece of paper. On the paper he wrote figures of various shapes. Hethen looked up, and said,--

"Ararokes, ararokes,Na na nakawesAy na s'imburnales,"--

which meant that the plough had been stolen by a neighbor and hiddenin a creek. Suan's father looked for it in the creek near their house,and found it. In great wonder he said, "My son is truly the wisestboy in the town." News spread that Suan was a good guesser.

One day as Suan was up in a guava-tree, he saw his uncle Pedroploughing. At noon Pedro went home to eat his dinner, leaving theplough and the carabao [5] in the field. Suan got down from the treeand climbed up on the carabao's back. He guided it to a very secretplace in the mountains and hid it there. When Pedro came back, hecould not find his carabao. A man who was passing by said, "Pedro,what are you looking for?"

"I am looking for my carabao. Somebody must have stolen it." "Go toSuan, your nephew," said the man. "He can tell you who stole yourcarabao." So Pedro went to Suan's house, and told him to guess whohad taken his carabao.

Suan took his pencil and a piece of paper. On the paper he wrote someround figures. He then looked up, and said,

"Carabaues, carabaues,Na nanakawesAy na sa bundokes,"--

which meant that the carabao was stolen by a neighbor and was hiddenin the mountain. For many days Pedro looked for it in the mountain. Atlast he found it in a very secret place. He then went to Suan's house,and told him that the carabao was truly in the mountain. In greatwonder he said, "My nephew is surely a good guesser."

One Sunday a proclamation of the king was read. It was as follows:"The princess's ring is lost. Whoever can tell who stole it shall havemy daughter for his wife; but he who tries and fails, loses his head."

When Suan's mother heard it, she immediately went to the palace,and said, "King, my son can tell you who stole your daughter's ring."

"Very well," said the king, "I will send my carriage for your son toride to the palace in."

In great joy the woman went home. She was only ascending the ladder[6] when she shouted, "Suan Suan, my fortunate son!"

"What is it, mother?" said Suan.

"I told the king that you could tell him who stole the princess'sring."

"Foolish mother, do you want me to die?" said Suan, trembling.

Suan had scarcely spoken these words when the king's carriage came. Thecoachman was a courtier. This man was really the one who had stolenthe princess's ring. When Suan was in the carriage, he exclaimed ingreat sorrow, "Death is at hand!" Then he blasphemed, and said aloudto himself, "You will lose your life now."

The coachman thought that Suan was addressing him. He said to himself,"I once heard that this man is a good guesser. He must know thatit was I who stole the ring, because he said that my death is athand." So he knelt before Suan, and said, "Pity me! Don't tell theking that it was I who stole the ring!"

Suan was surprised at what the coachman said. After thinking for amoment, he asked, "Where is the ring?"

"Here it is."

"All right! Listen, and I will tell you what you must do in orderthat you may not be punished by the king. You must catch one of theking's geese to-night, and make it swallow the ring."

The coachman did what Suan had told him to do. He caught a goose andopened its mouth. He then dropped the ring into it, and pressed thebird's throat until it swallowed the ring.

The next morning the king called Suan, and said, "Tell me now whostole my daughter's ring."

"May I have a candle? I cannot guess right if I have no candle,"said Suan.

The king gave him one. He lighted it and put it on a round table. Hethen looked up and down. He went around the table several times,uttering Latin words. Lastly he said in a loud voice, "Mi domine!"

"Where is the ring?" said the king.

Suan replied,--

"Singsing na nawalaNinakao ang akalaAy nas' 'big ng gansa,"--

which meant that the ring was not stolen, but had been swallowed bya goose. The king ordered all the geese to be killed. In the crop ofone of them they found the ring. In great joy the king patted Suanon the back, and said, "You are truly the wisest boy in the world."

The next day there was a great entertainment, and Suan and the princesswere married.

In a country on the other side of the sea was living a rich man namedMayabong. This man heard that the King of Campao had a son-in-lawwho was a good guesser. So he filled one of his cascos with goldand silver, and sailed to Campao. He went to the palace, and said,"King, is it true that your son-in-law is a good guesser?"

"Yes," said the king.

"Should you like to have a contest with me? If your son-in-law cantell how many seeds these melons I have brought here contain, I willgive you that casco filled with gold and silver on the sea; but if hefails, you are to give me the same amount of money as I have brought."

The king agreed. Mayabong told him that they would meet at the publicsquare the next day.

When Mayabong had gone away, the king called Suan, and said, "Mayabonghas challenged me to a contest. You are to guess how many seeds themelons he has contain. Can you do it?" Suan was ashamed to refuse;so, even though he knew that he could not tell how many seeds a meloncontained, he answered, "Yes."

When night came, Suan could not sleep. He was wondering what to do. Atlast he decided to drown himself in the sea. So he went to the shoreand got into a tub. "I must drown myself far out, so that no one mayfind my body. If they see it, they will say that I was not truly agood guesser," he said to himself. He rowed and rowed until he wasvery tired. It so happened that he reached the place where Mayabong'scasco was anchored. There he heard somebody talking. "How many seedshas the green melon?" said one. "Five," answered another. "How manyseeds has the yellow one?"--"Six."

When Suan heard how many seeds each melon contained, he immediatelyrowed back to shore and went home.

The next morning Suan met Mayabong at the public square, asagreed. Mayabong held up a green melon, and said, "How many seedsdoes this melon contain?"

"Five seeds," answered Suan, after uttering some Latin words.

The melon was cut, and was found to contain five seeds. The kingshouted, "We are right!"

Mayabong then held up another melon, and said, "How many does thisone contain?"

Seeing that it was the yellow melon, Suan said, "It contains six."

When the melon was cut, it was found that Suan was right again. Sohe won the contest.

Now, Mayabong wanted to win his money back again. So he took a bottleand filled it with dung, and covered it tightly. He challenged theking again to a contest. But when Suan refused this time, because hehad no idea as to what was in the bottle, the king said, "I let youmarry my daughter, because I thought that you were a good guesser. Nowyou must prove that you are. If you refuse, you will lose your life."

When Mayabong asked what the bottle contained, Suan, filled with rage,picked it up and hurled it down on the floor, saying, "I considerthat you are all waste to me." [7] When the bottle was broken, itwas found to contain waste, or dung. In great joy the king crownedSuan to succeed him. Thus Suan lived happily the rest of his lifewith his wife the princess.

This story seems to be fairly widespread among the Filipinos: thereis no doubt of its popularity. The distinguishing incidents of thetype are as follows:--

A1 Lazy son decides that he will go to school no longer, and (A2)with his ABC book or a pencil and pad of paper, he has no trouble inmaking his parents think him wise. (A3) He tells his mother that he haslearned to be a prophet and can discover hidden things. (A4) He spieson his mother, and then "guesses" what she has prepared for supper.

B He hides his father's plough (cattle), and then finds it forhim. (B1) Plays similar trick on his uncle, thereby establishing hisreputation as a diviner.

C King's daughter loses ring, and the king sends for Juan to find itunder penalty of death if he fails, or (C1) his mother volunteersher son's services. (C2) He accidentally discovers the thief by anejaculation of sorrow, or (C3) shrewdly picks out the guilty one fromamong the soldiers.

In either case he causes the ring to be hid in a secret place orswallowed by a goose (turkey), in whose body it is found the next day.

D Juan marries the princess.

E By overhearing a conversation, Juan is able to tell the number ofseeds in an orange (melon), and to win a large sum of money from aneighboring king who has come to bet with hero's father-in-law.

F Hero required to accept another bet, as to the contents of threejars. (Method as in E,--swimming out to neighboring king's casco andoverhearing conversation.)

G Ejaculation guess as to contents of golden ball (bottle).

H Afraid of being called on for further demonstration of his skill,hero burns his "magic" book.

These incidents are distributed among the four forms of the storyas follows:--

A concluding adventure is sometimes added to version c, "Juanthe Guesser." King and queen of another country visit palace ofJuan's father-in-law and want their newly-born child baptized. Juanis selected to be godfather. When called upon to sign the baptismcertificate, he instantly dies of shame, pen in hand: he cannot writeeven his own name.

A connection between our story and Europe at once suggestsitself. "Dr. Knowall" (Grimm, No. 98) is perhaps the best-known,though by no means the fullest, Western version. Bolte and Polivka(2 [1915] : 402) give the skeleton of the cycle as follows:--

A1 A peasant with the name of Crab (Cricket, Rat), who buys aphysician's costume and calls himself Dr. Knowall, or (A2) who wouldlike to satiate himself once with three days' eating, (B) discoversthe thieves who have stolen from a distinguished gentleman a ring(treasure), by calling out upon the entrance of the servants (or atthe end of the three days), "That is the first (second, third)!" (C)He also guesses what is in the covered dish (or closed hand) whilecommiserating himself, "Poor Crab (Cricket, Rat)!" (D1) Througha purgative he by chance helps to find a stolen horse, or (D2) hediscovers the horse that has previously been concealed by him. (E) Hegets a living among the peasants, upon whom he has made an impressionwith a short or unintelligible sermon or through the crashing-downof the pulpit, which has previously been sawed through by him.

Bolte lists over a hundred and fifty stories containing one or moreincidents of this cycle. The discovery of the ring inside a domesticfowl (sometimes animal) is found in most of the European versions,as is likewise the "ejaculation guess" (our C3 and G).

These two details, however, are also found in Oriental forms ofthe story, which, as a whole, have some peculiarly distinctivetraits. These (see Bolte-Polivka, 2 : 407) are (1) the role of thewife, (2) the collapsing of the room, (3) the burning of the magicbook. The appearance in the Philippine versions of two of these motifs(one in modified form), together with a third (the betting-contestbetween the two kings, which is undoubtedly Eastern in origin),leads us to believe that our story of "Juan the Guesser" is in largemeasure descended directly from Oriental tradition, though it mayowe something to Occidental influence.

In two of our variants it is the mother who in her fond pride placesher son in jeopardy of losing his head. As the hero is a youngbachelor when the story opens, the exploitation of his prowess wouldnaturally devolve upon his mother. The burning of the magic bookis found in version c, though the incident of the collapsing of theroom or house is lacking in all our variants. The most characteristicepisode, however, in the Philippine members of this cycle, is thebetting-contest between the two kings. It is introduced five timesinto the four tales. Its only other occurrence that I know of in thiscycle is in an Arabian story cited by Cosquin (2 : 192), which follows.

One day, when the king was boasting of his conjurer before some otherkings, they said to him, "We too have some diviners. Let us comparetheir wits with the wisdom of your man." The kings then buried threepots,--one filled with milk, another with honey, and the third withpitch. The conjurers of the other kings could not say what was inthe pots. Then Asfour (the hero) was called. He turned to his wife,and said, "All this (trouble) comes of you. We could have left thecountry. The first (time) it was milk; the second, honey; the third,pitch." The kings were dumfounded. "He has named the milk, the honey,and the pitch without hesitation," they said, and they gave hima pension.

The close resemblance between this detail and the corresponding one(F) in "Juan the Guesser" is immediately evident. The fact that thedifficulty in Juan's career is overcome, not by an "ejaculation guess,"but by a providential accident (much the same thing, however), doesnot decrease the significance of the two passages.

That the betting-contest between the two kings is an Orientalconception (very likely based on actual early custom) is furtherborne out by its appearance in a remarkable group of Eastern storiesof the "Clever Lass" type (see Child, English and Scottish Ballads,1 : 11). "The gist of these narratives," writes Professor Child,"is that one king propounds tasks to another; in the earlier ones,with the intent to discover whether his brother-monarch enjoys the aidof such counsellors as will make an attack on him dangerous; in thelater, with the demand that he shall acquit himself satisfactorily,or suffer a forfeit: and the king is delivered from a serious straitby the sagacity either of a minister . . . or of the daughter of hisminister, who came to her father's assistance .... These tasks arealways such as require ingenuity of one kind or another, whether indevising practical experiments, in contriving subterfuges, in solvingriddles, or even in constructing compliments."

One other Oriental variant of this story may be cited because of itssimilarity to two of our tales (cf. our episodes C and C2). This isan Anamese version, printed in the "Chrestomathie cochin-chinoise"(Paris, 1872), 1 : 30:--

There was once a man who, being qualified for nothing, and notknowing how to earn a living, made up his mind one day to becomea diviner. As luck had many times served him, the public came tobelieve in his oracles.... He amassed a good round sum, and dayby day his success made him more bold and boastful. Once a goldentortoise disappeared from the palace of the king. As all searches forit resulted in nothing, some one mentioned the diviner to the king,and begged permission to summon him. The king ordered his litterprepared, the escort and the umbrellas of honor, and sent to havethe conjurer fetched. When the conjurer learned what was the matter,he was very much disturbed, but he could not resist the commandsof the king. Accordingly he dressed himself, entered the litter,and set out. Along the road the poor diviner continually bemoanedhis fate. Finally he cried out, "What is the use of groaning? Thestomach (bung) has caused it all; the belly (da) will suffer for it"(an Anamese proverb). Now, it happened that the two litter-bearerswere named Bung and Da, and it was they who had stolen the king's goldtortoise. When they heard the exclamation of the diviner, they believedthat they had been discovered. They begged him to have pity on them;they confessed that they had stolen the tortoise and had hidden itin the gutter. "Very well," said the diviner, "I will spare you; Iwill say nothing; reassure yourselves." When he reached the palace,he went through some magical performances, found the tortoise, andwas overwhelmed by the king with rewards and honors.--COSQUIN, 2 : 192.

It is entirely possible that this story and our two stories containingthe same situation are connected. Trading between Manila and Indo-Chinahas been going on for centuries.

The history of the Philippine story has probably been something likethis: To an early narrative about a wager between two neighboringkings or datus, in which the winner was aided by the shrewdness ofan advisor (originally having a considerable amount of real ability),were added other adventures showing how the advisor came to have hispost of honor. The germ of this story doubtless came from India viathe Malay migrations; the additional details possibly belong to amuch later period.

It is, moreover, not impossible that this whole cycle of the lucky"anti-hero" grew up as a conscious antithesis to the earlier cycleof the genuinely "Clever Lass" (see No. 7 in this collection).

In conclusion I might call attention to Benfey's treatment of thisdroll in "Orient und Occident" (1 : 371 et seq.). Benfey traces thestory from the Orient, but considers that its fullest form is thatgiven in Schleicher's Lithuanian legends. The tale is also found in"Somadeva," Chapter XXX (Tawney, 1 : 272-274).

TALE 2

The Charcoal-maker Who Became King.

Narrated by Jose R. Perez, a Tagalog living in Manila, who heard thestory when a boy from his nurse.

Once upon a time there lived a king who had one beautifuldaughter. When she was old enough to be married, her father, as wasthe custom in ancient times, made a proclamation throughout his kingdomthus: "Whosoever shall be able to bring me ten car-loads of money forten successive days shall have the hand of my beautiful daughter andalso my crown. If, however, any one undertakes and fails, he shallbe put to death."

A boy, the only son of a poor charcoal-maker, heard this announcementin his little town. He hurried home to his mother, and said thathe wanted to marry the beautiful princess and to be king of theircountry. The mother, however, paid no attention to what her foolishson had said, for she well knew that they had very little money.

The next day the boy, as usual, took his hatchet and went to the forestto cut wood. He started to cut down a very huge tree, which wouldtake him several days to finish. While he was busy with his hatchet,he seemed to hear a voice saying, "Cut this tree no more. Dip yourhand into the hole of the trunk, and you will find a purse whichwill give you all the money you wish." At first he did not pay anyattention to the voice, but finally he obeyed it. To his surprise,he got the purse, but found it empty. Disappointed, he angrily threwit away; but as the purse hit the ground, silver money rolled merrilyout of it. The youth quickly gathered up the coins; then, picking upthe purse, he started for home, filled with happiness.

When he reached the house, he spread petates [8] over the floor oftheir little hut, called his mother, and began shaking the purse. Theold woman was amazed and delighted when she saw dollars coming outin what seemed to be an inexhaustible stream. She did not ask herson where he had found the purse, but was now thoroughly convincedthat he could marry the beautiful princess and be king afterwards.

The next morning she ordered her son to go to the palace to informhis Majesty that he would bring him the money he demanded in exchangefor his daughter and his crown. The guard of the palace, however,thought that the youth was crazy; for he was poorly dressed and hadrude manners. Therefore he refused to let him in. But their talk wasoverheard by the king, who ordered the guard to present the youthbefore him. The king read the announcement, emphasizing the part whichsaid that in case of failure the contestant would be put to death. Tothis condition the charcoal-maker agreed. Then he asked the kingto let him have a talk with his daughter. The meeting was granted,and the youth was extremely pleased with the beauty and vivacity ofthe princess.

After he had bidden her good-by, he told the king to send the carswith him to get the first ten car-loads of money. The cars were sentwith guards. The drivers and the guards of the convoy were astonishedwhen they saw the poor charcoal-maker fill the ten cars with brightnew silver dollars. The princess, too, at first was very much pleasedwith such a large sum of money.

Five days went by, and the youth had not failed to send the amount ofmoney required. "Five days more, and I shall surely be married!" saidthe princess to herself. "Married? Yes, married life is like musicwithout words. But will it be in my case? My future husband is ugly,unrefined, and of low descent. But--he is rich. Yes, rich; but whatare riches if I am going to be wretched? No, I will not marry himfor all the world. I will play a trick on him."

The next day the guard informed her that the riches of the youngman were inexhaustible, for the purse from which he got his moneyseemed to be magical. When she heard this, she commanded the guard totell the young man that she wished to see him alone. Filled with joybecause of this sign of her favor, the youth hastened to the palace,conducted by the guard. The princess entertained him regally, and triedall sorts of tricks to get possession of the magical purse. At last shesucceeded in inducing him to go to sleep. While he was unconscious, thedeceitful princess stole the purse and left him alone in the chamber.

When he awoke, he saw that the princess had deserted him and thathis purse was gone. "Surely I am doomed to die if I don't leave thiskingdom at once," said he to himself. "My purse is gone, and I cannotnow fulfil my contract." He at once hurried home, told his parents toabandon their home and town, and he himself started on a journey foranother kingdom. After much travelling, he reached mountainous places,and had eaten but little for many a day.

By good luck he came across a tree heavily laden with fruits. Thetree was strange to him; but the delicious appearance of its fruit,and his hunger, tempted him to try some. While he was eating, he wasterrified to find that two horns had appeared on his forehead. He triedhis best to pull them off, but in vain. The next day he saw anothertree, whose fruit appeared even more tempting. He climbed it, pickedsome fruits, and ate them. To his surprise, his horns immediatelyfell off. He wrapped some of this fruit up in his handkerchief,and then went back to find the tree whose fruit he had eaten the daybefore. He again ate some of its fruit, and again two horns grew outof his head. Then he ate some of the other kind, and the horns felloff. Confident now that he had a means of recovering his purse, hegathered some of the horn-producing fruits, wrapped them in his shirt,and started home. By this time he had been travelling for nearly twoyears, and his face had so changed that he could not be recognizedby his own parents, or by his town-mates who had been hired by theking to search for him for execution.

When he reached his town, he decided to place himself in the king'spalace as a helper of the royal cook. As he was willing to work withoutpay, he easily came to terms with the cook. One of the conditionsof their agreement was that the cook would tell him whatever theking or the king's family were talking about. After a few monthsthe charcoal-maker proved himself to be an excellent cook. In fact,he was now doing all the cooking in the palace; for the chief cookspent most of his time somewhere else, coming home only at meal times.

Now comes the fun of the story. One day while the cook was gone,the youth ground up the two kinds of fruit. He mixed the kind thatproduced horns with the king's food: the other kind, which causedthe horns to fall off, he mixed with water and put into a jar. Thecook arrived, and everything was ready. The table was prepared,and the king and his family were called to eat. The queen and theking and the beautiful princess, who were used to wearing goldencrowns set with diamonds and other precious stones, were then to beseen with sharp ugly horns on their heads. When the king discoveredthat they all had horns, he summoned the cook at once, and asked,"What kind of food did you give us?"

"The same food that your Highness ate a week ago," replied the cook,who was terrified to see the royal family with horns.

"Cook, go and find a doctor. Don't tell him or any one else that wehave horns. Tell the doctor that the king wants him to perform anoperation," ordered the king.

The cook set out immediately to find a doctor; but he was interceptedby the charcoal-maker, who was eager to hear the king's order. "Whereare you going? Say, cook, why are you in such a hurry? What is thematter?"

"Don't bother me!" said the cook. "I am going to find a doctor. Theking and his family have horns on their heads, and I am ordered tofind a doctor who can take them off."

"I can make those horns fall off. You needn't bother to find adoctor. Here, try some of this food, cook!" said the helper, giving himsome of the same food he had prepared for the king. The cook tried it,and it was good; but, to his alarm, he felt two horns on his head. Toprevent rumors from reaching the ears of the king, the youth thengave the cook a glass of the water he had prepared, and the hornsfell off. While the charcoal-maker was playing this trick on the cook,he related the story of his magical purse, and how he had lost it.

"Change your clothes, then, and get ready, and I will present you tothe king as the doctor," said the cook.

The helper then dressed himself just like a doctor of surgery, andwas conducted by the cook into the king's presence.

"Doctor, I want you to do all you can, and use the best of your wisdom,to take off these horns from our heads. But before doing it, promise mefirst that you will not unfold the matter to the people; for my queen,my daughter, and I would rather die than be known to have lived withhorns. If you succeed in taking them off, you shall inherit one-halfof my kingdom and have the hand of my fair daughter," said the king.

"I do promise. But listen, O king! In order to get rid of those horns,you must undergo the severest treatment, which may cause your death,"replied the doctor.

"It is no matter. If we should die, we would rather die hornless thanlive with horns," said the king.

After the agreement was written out, the doctor ordered thetreatment. The king and the queen were to be whipped until they bled,while the princess was to dance with the doctor until she becameexhausted. These were the remedies given by the doctor.

While the king and queen were being whipped, the doctor who, we mustremember, was the cook's helper--went to the kitchen to get the jar ofwater which he had prepared. The cruel servants who were scourging theking and the queen took much delight in their task, and did not quituntil the king and queen were almost lifeless. The doctor forgot theroyal couple while he was dancing with the princess, and found themjust about to die. He succeeded, however, in giving them some of thefruit-water he had made ready, and the horns fell off. The princess,exhausted, also asked for a drink when she stopped dancing, and thehorns fell off her head too.

A few days afterwards the king and the queen died, and the doctorsucceeded to the throne, with the beautiful princess as hiswife. Then the doctor told her that he was the poor charcoal-makerwho had owned the magic purse that she had stolen from him. As soonas he was seated on the throne, he made his friend the cook one ofhis courtiers. Although the new king was uneducated and unrefined,he welcomed all wise men to his palace as his counsellors, and hiskingdom prospered as it had never done under its previous rulers.

Notes.

Another Tagalog version, called "Pedro's Fortunes" and narrated byFacundo Esquivel of Nueva Ecija, represents the hero as inheritingthe inexhaustible purse from his father.

Pedro, with his wealth, soon attracts the notice of the princess,who slyly wheedles his purse away from him. Bent on revenge, he setsout travelling. Hunger soon drives him to eat some beautiful blossomshe finds on a strange tree in the mountains. No sooner has he eaten,however, than horns grow out of his forehead. At first in despair,but later becoming philosophical, he eats some of the leaves of thetree. Horns disappear. Taking blossoms and leaves with him, he goeson. He finds another tree with blossoms similar to the first. Heeats: fangs from upper jaw. Eats leaves from the same tree: fangsdisappear. Takes with him specimens of both flowers and leaves. Thirdtree: blossoms tail-producing. When he reaches home, he makes adecoction of the three kinds of flowers, then goes to the palaceand sells "lemonade from Paradise." King, queen, and princess drink:horns, fangs, tails. All efforts to remove them vain. Proclamationthat princess's hand will be given to whoever can cure the royalfamily. Disguised as a doctor, Pedro cures king, queen, and princesswith a decoction of the three kinds of leaves, first, however,demanding and getting back his purse. Pedro is married to princess.

These two stories (No. 2 and the variant) belong to the type in whichthe hero loses a magic article (or three magic articles) through thetrickery of a princess, but recovers it (them) again by the aid offruits (blossoms) which, if eaten, cause bodily deformity,--leprosy,horns, a tail, a long nose, transformation into an animal, or thelike. The princess, a victim of one of these fruits, which thehero causes her to eat unwittingly, can be restored to her formerbeauty only by eating of another fruit which the hero, disguised as aphysician, supplies on condition that the magic articles first stolenbe given up. A detailed study of this cycle has been made by AnttiAarne (pp. 85-142). Aarne names the cycle "The Three Magic Articlesand the Wonderful Fruit." After an examination of some hundred andforty-five variants of the story, all but four of which are European,he concludes that the tale arose among the Celts (British Isles andFrance) and spread eastward (p. 135), and that the farther we gofrom these two lands, the more freely are the original details ofthe story handled (p. 137).

The prototype of this folk-tale Aarne reconstructs as follows(pp. 124-125):--

There are three brothers, soldiers. Each comes into the possession ofa specific magic article. One obtains a purse which is never empty;the second, a horn which when blown raises an army; and the third, amantle which transports its owner wherever he commands it to go. (Theowner of the purse begins to lead such a luxurious life, that hebecomes acquainted with the king and his family.) The king's daughterdeprives the hero of his magic purse. He gets from his brother thesecond magic article, but the same thing happens again: the princesssteals the horn likewise. A third time the hero goes to the princess,taking the mantle given him by his brother. With the help of this,the hero succeeds in punishing the princess by transporting her toa distant island. But she cheats him again. In the magic mantle shewishes herself home, leaving him on the island. He happens upon anapple-tree. He eats some of the fruit, but notices with dismay thathorns have grown from his head. After a time he finds other apples;and when he has eaten them, the horns disappear, and he regainshis original form. Unrecognized, the youth sets out to sell to theking's daughter some of the first apples. Without suspecting any evil,she eats them, and horns appear on her head. No one is able to cureher. Then the hero appears as a foreign physician at the court ofthe king, and makes ready his cure. He gives the princess enough ofthe good apple to cause the horns to decrease in size. In this wayhe compels her to give him back the stolen articles.

The Tagalog versions of the story differ considerably from thisarchetype. No brothers of the hero are mentioned. There is but onemagic object, an inexhaustible purse: hence there is no magic flightto an island. In none of Aarne's variants do we find blossoms producinghorns which may be removed only by leaves from the same tree, as in ourvariant. The tail-producing fruit is found in nine European versions(five Finnish, two Russian, two Italian), but the fang-producingblossom is peculiar only to our variant; likewise the "lemonade fromParadise" method of dispensing the extract. In thirty-five of theFinnish and Russian forms of the story the hero whips the princessto make her give up the stolen articles, or introduces whipping asa part of the cure (cf. No. 2). Both Filipino versions end with themarriage of the hero to the princess, a detail often lacking in theother versions.

It is impossible to say when or whence this tale reached thePhilippines. The fact that the story does not seem to be widespreadin the Islands suggests that its introduction was recent, whilethe separate incidents point to some Finnish or Russian version assource. The only crystallized elements found in the Philippines arethe poor hero's obtaining a magic purse, his aspiring to the handof the princess, her theft of the magic object, and its recovery bymeans of horn-producing fruits. The complete story (2) seems to bemore native and less "manufactured" than the variant.

Besides Aarne, for a general discussion of this cycle see Cosquin, 1 :123-132; R. Koehler's notes to Gonzenbach's No. 31, and his variants ofthis story in Zeitschrift des Vereins fuer Volkskunde (1896); Von Hahn,2 : 246-247; Grimm, notes to No. 122, "Donkey Cabbages" (in Tales[ed. Hunt], 2 : 419-423). F. H. Groome's "The Seer" (No. 23), a partof which resembles very closely the literary form of the story inthe Gesta Romanorum (ch. 120), seems to have been overlooked by Aarne.

TALE 3

The Story of Carancal.

Narrated by Jose P. Caedo, a Tagalog from Batangas, Batangas.

Once upon a time there lived a couple who had long been married,but had no child. Every Sunday they went to church and begged God togive them a son. They even asked the witches in their town why Godwould not give them a child. The witches told them that they wouldhave one after a year, but that when born he would be no longer thana span. Nevertheless the couple gave thanks.

After a year a son was born to them. He was very small, as thewitches had foretold, but he was stronger than any one would expectsuch a small child to be. "It is strange," said a neighbor. "Why,he eats more food than his stomach can hold." The boy grew larger andlarger, and the amount of food he ate became greater and greater. Whenhe became four feet tall, his daily requirements were a cavan [9]of rice and twenty-five pounds of meat and fish. "I can't imaginehow so small a person can eat so much food," said his mother to herhusband. "He is like a grasshopper: he eats all the time."

Carancal, as the boy was called, was very strong and verykind-hearted. He was the leader of the other boys of the town, forhe could beat all of them in wrestling.

After a few years the family's property had all been sold to buyfood for the boy. Day after day they became poorer and poorer, forCarancal's father had no other business but fishing. So one day whenCarancal was away playing, the wife said to her husband, "What shallwe do with Carancal? He will make us as poor as rats. It is better forus to tell him to go earn his living, for he is old enough to work."

"No, it is a shame to send him off," said the father, "for we askedGod for him. I will take him to the forest and there kill him; andif the neighbors ask how he died, we will say that an accident befellhim while cutting trees."

Early the next morning his father led Carancal to the forest, and theybegan to cut down a very big tree. When the tree was about to fall,Carancal's father ordered the son to stand where the tree inclined;so that when it fell, Carancal was entirely buried. The fatherimmediately went home, thinking that his son had surely been killed;but when he and his wife were talking, Carancal came home with thebig tree on his shoulders.

"Father, father, why did you leave me alone in the forest?" said theobedient boy.

The father could not move or speak, for shame of himself. He onlyhelped his son unload the heavy burden. The mother could not speakeither, for fear Carancal might suspect their bad intentions towardhim. Accordingly she and her husband planned another scheme.

The next day Carancal was invited by his father to go fishing. Theyrowed and rowed until they were far out into the blue sea. Then theyput their net into the water. "Carancal, dive down and see that ournet is sound," said the father. Carancal obeyed. In about a minute thewater became red and began to foam. This made the old man think thathis son had been devoured by a big fish, so he rowed homeward. When hereached home, his wife anxiously asked if Carancal was dead; and thehusband said, "Yes." They then cooked their meal and began to eat. Buttheir supper was not half finished when Carancal came in, carrying abig alligator. He again asked his father why he had left him aloneto bring such a big load. The father said, "I thought you had beenkilled by a large fish." Carancal then asked his mother to cook hima cavan of rice, for he was tired from swimming such a long distance.

The couple were now discouraged; they could not think of any wayby which to get rid of Carancal. At last the impatient woman said,"Carancal, you had better go out into the world to see what you can dotoward earning your own living. You know that we are becoming poorerand poorer." . . .

"Mother," interrupted the boy, "I really did not wish to go awayfrom you; but, now that you drive me as if I were not your son,I cannot stay." He paused for a moment to wipe the tears from hischeeks. "You know that I love you; but you, in turn, hate me. Whatshall I do? I am your son, and so I must not disobey you. But beforeI depart, father and mother, please give me a bolo, [10] a big bolo,to protect myself in case of danger."

The parents willingly promised that he should have one, and aftertwo days an enormous bolo five yards long was finished. Carancal tookit, kissed the hands of his parents, [11] and then went away with aheavy heart.

When he had left his little village behind, he did not know which wayto go. He was like a ship without a rudder. He walked and walked untilhe came to a forest, where he met Bugtongpalasan. [12] Carancal askedhim where he was going; and Bugtongpalasan said, "I am wandering,but I do not know where to go. I have lost my parents, and they haveleft me nothing to inherit."

"Do you want to go with me?" said Carancal.

"Yes," said Bugtongpalasan.

"Let us wrestle first, and the loser will carry my bolo," said Carancalas a challenge. They wrestled; and Bugtongpalasan was defeated,so he had to carry the big bolo.

Then they continued their journey until they met Tunkodbola, [13]whom Carancal also challenged to a wrestling-match. Tunkodbola laughedat Carancal, and said, "Look at this!" He twisted up a tree near by,and hurled it out of sight.

"That is all right. Let us wrestle, and we will see if you can twistme," said Carancal scornfully. So they wrestled. The earth trembled,trees were uprooted, large stones rolled about; but Tunkodbola wasdefeated.

"Here, take this bolo and carry it!" said Carancal triumphantly;and they continued their journey.

When they reached the top of a mountain, they saw a big man. This wasMacabuhalbundok. [14] Carancal challenged him; but Macabuhalbundokonly laughed, and pushed up a hill. As the hill fell, he said, "Lookat this hill! I gave it only a little push, and it was overthrown."

"Well, I am not a hill," said Carancal. "I can balance myself." Theywrestled together, and Carancal was once more the winner.

The four companions now walked on together. They were all wanderingabout, not knowing where to go. When they were in the midst of a thickwood, they became hungry; so Carancal, their captain, ordered one ofthem to climb a tall tree and see if any house was nigh. Bugtongpalasandid so, and he saw a big house near the edge of the forest. They allwent to the house to see if they might not beg some food.

It was a very large house; but all the windows were closed, andit seemed to be uninhabited. They knocked at the door, but no oneanswered. Then they went in, and found a table covered with deliciousfood; and as they were almost famished, they lost no time in devouringwhat seemed to have been prepared for them. After all had eaten,three of them went hunting, leaving Bugtongpalasan behind to cookmore food for them against their return.

While Bugtongpalasan was cooking, he felt the earth tremble, and ina short time he saw a big giant ascending the stairs of the house,saying, "Ho, bajo tao cainco," [15] which means "I smell a man whomI will eat." Bugtongpalasan faced him, but what could a man do toa big giant? The monster pulled a hair out of his head and tiedBugtongpalasan to a post. Then he cooked his own meal. After eating,he went away, leaving his prisoner in the house.

When the three arrived, they were very angry with Bugtongpalasanbecause no food had been prepared for them; but they untied him,and made him get the meal. Tunkodbola was the next one left behindas cook while the others went hunting, but he had the same experienceas Bugtongpalasan. Then Macabuhalbundok; but the same thing happenedto him too.

It was now the turn of Carancal to try his wit, strength, andluck. Before the three left, he had them shave his head. When thegiant came and saw that Carancal's head was white, he laughed. "Itis a very fine thing to have a white head," said the giant. "Make myhead white, too."

"Your head must be shaved to be white," said Carancal, "and it is avery difficult thing to shave a head."

"Never mind that! I want to have my head shaved," said the giantimpatiently.

Carancal then got some ropes and wax. He tied the giant tightly toa post, and then smeared his body with wax. He next took a match andset the giant's body on fire. Thus the giant was destroyed, and thefour lived in the house as if it were their own.

Not long afterwards a rumor reached their ears. It was to this effect:that in a certain kingdom on the other side of the sea lived a king whowanted to have a huge stone removed from its place. This stone was sobig that it covered much ground. The prize that would be given to theone who could remove it was the hand of the king's prettiest daughter.

The four set out to try their strength. At that time there wereno boats for them to sail on, so they had to swim. After threeweeks' swimming, they landed on an island-like place in the sea,to rest. It was smooth and slippery, which made them wonder what itcould be. Carancal, accordingly, drew his bolo and thrust it intothe island. How fast the island moved after the stroke! It was notreally an island, but a very big fish. Fortunately the fish carriedthe travellers near the shores of the kingdom they were seeking.

When the four arrived, they immediately presented themselves to theking, and told him that they would try to move the stone. The kingordered one of his soldiers to show them the stone. There a big crowdof people collected to watch the four strong men.

The first to try was Bugtongpalasan. He could hardly budge it. ThenTunkodbola tried, but moved it only a few yards. When Macabuhalbundok'sturn came, he moved the great stone half a mile; but the king saidthat it was not satisfactory. Carancal then took hold of the ropetied to the stone, and gave a swing. In a minute the great stone wasout of sight.

The king was very much pleased, and asked Carancal to choose a princessfor his wife. "I am not old enough to marry, my lord," said Carancalsadly (sic!). "I will marry one of my companions to your daughter,however, if you are willing." The king agreed, and Bugtongpalasanwas made a prince.

The three unmarried men lived with Bugtongpalasan. By this time theywere known not only throughout the whole kingdom where they were, butalso in other countries. They had not enjoyed a year's hospitalityin Bugtongpalasan's home when a letter addressed to the four mencame. It was as follows:--

I have heard that you have superhuman strength, which I now greatlyneed. About a week ago a monster fish floated up to the shore of mytown. It is decaying, and has a most offensive odor. My men in vainhave tried to drag the fish out into the middle of the sea. I writeto inform you that if you can rid us of it, I will let one of youmarry my prettiest daughter.

King Walangtacut. [16]

After Carancal had read the letter, he instantly remembered thefish that had helped them in travelling. The three companions madethemselves ready, bade Bugtongpalasan good-by, and set out forWalangtacut's kingdom. They travelled on foot, for the place was notvery far away.

In every town they passed through, the people cried, "Hurrah forthe strong men!" The king received them with a banquet, and all thehouses of the town were decorated with flags. In a word, every onewelcomed them.

After the banquet was over, the three men marched with the king andall his counsellors, knights, dukes, and the common people to where thedecaying fish lay. In this test, too, Carancal was the only successfulone. Again he refused to marry; but as the princess was very anxious tohave a strong man for her husband, Tunkodbola was chosen by Carancal,and he became her husband.

The fame of the strong men was now nearly universal. All thesurrounding kings sent congratulations. The heroes received offersof marriage from many beautiful ladies of the neighboring kingdoms.

One day when Carancal and Macabuhalbundok were talking together, oneof them suggested that they go on another journey. The other agreed,and both of them made preparations. But when they were about to start,a letter from another king came, addressed to Carancal. The kingsaid in his letter that a great stone had fallen in his park. "Itis so big that I thought it was the sky that fell," he wrote. "I amwilling to marry you to my youngest daughter if you can remove itfrom its present place," said the king.

The two friends accepted the invitation, and immediately began theirjourney. They travelled by land and sea for many a day. At lastthey reached the place. There they found the same stone which theyhad removed before. As he knew that he could not move it far enough,Macabuhalbundok did not make any attempt: Carancal was again the onewho did the work.

Once more Carancal refused to marry. "I am too young yet to marry,"he said to the king. "In my place I will put my companion." SoMacabuhalbundok was married.

Carancal remained a bachelor, for he did not wish to have a wife. Thethree princes considered him as their father, though he was youngerthan any of them. For a long time Carancal lived with each of thema year in rotation. Not long after the marriage of Macabuhalbundok,the father-in-law of Bugtongpalasan died, and so Bugtongpalasan becamethe king. Then the following year Tunkodbola's father-in-law died, andTunkodbola became also a king. After many years the father-in-law ofMacabuhalbundok died, and Macabuhalbundok succeeded to the throne. ThusCarancal was the benefactor of three kings.

One day Carancal thought of visiting his cruel parents and of livingwith them. So he set out, carrying with him plenty of money, whichthe three kings had given him. This time his parents did not drivehim away, for he had much wealth. Carancal lived once more with hisparents, and had three kings under him.

A The hero, when born, is only a span in length, and never grows tallerthan four feet. He early develops an enormous appetite, and by thetime he is twelve years old he has eaten his parents out of everything.

B Attempts of parents (or uncle) to get rid of the hero: (B1) byletting a tree fall on him, (B2) by throwing him into a deep well andthen stoning him, (B3) by commanding him to dive into a river to repaira fishing-net, (B4) by persuading him to enter wrestling-match withthe king's champion, (B5) by pushing him into the sea or by pushingrocks on him at the seashore.

C Hero's first exploits: (C1) carrying tree home on his shoulders,(C2) killing crocodile in river, or king of fishes in the sea, (C3)escape from the well, (C4) defeating champion.

D The hero now decides to leave home, (D1) taking with him a strongclub, an enormous bolo, or an enormous top, sword, and sheath.

E On his travels he meets two (three) strong men, whom he surpassesin strength-tests; or (E1) three men, whom he hires. They all journeyalong together, seeking adventures.

Up to the point where the hero leaves home, these various Filipinostories agree in the main: i.e., the hero is a dwarf of superhumanstrength and extraordinary eating-capacity; his parents (or guardian)are driven by poverty to attempt to kill him (usually twice, sometimesthrice), but their efforts are vain; he finally determines to leavehome, often taking with him some mighty weapon. From this point on,the narratives differ widely. All are alike in this respect, however:the hero never marries. Obviously this group of stories is connectedwith two well-known European cycles of folk-tales,--"Strong Hans"and "John the Bear." The points of resemblance will be indicatedbelow in an analysis of the incidents found in the members of ourgroup. (Variants are referred to by italicized lower-case letters thus:a [Pusong], b [Cabagboc], etc. No. 3 refers to our complete story of"Carancal.")

A Hero is born as result of childless couple's unceasing petitionsto Heaven (3, a, f, g), and is only a span in length when born (c,d, g). Three of the tales do not mention anything definite about thehero's birth (b, e, h). In all, however, his name is significant,indicating the fact that he is either a dwarf, or wonderfully strong,or a glutton (3 Carancal, from Tag. dangkal, "a palm;" [a] Pusong,from Vis. puso, "paunch, belly;" [b] Cabagboc, from Bicol, "strong;"[c] Sandapal, from Tag. dapal, "a span;" [d] Sandangcal, from Pampangandangkal = Tag.; [f] Tapon, Ilocano for "short;" [g] and [h] Tangaranganand Dangandangan, from Ilocano dangan, "a span"). a describes thehero as having "a big head and large stomach," but as being "very,very strong, he ate a sack of corn or rice every day." In b the hero"had great strength even when an infant." Sandangcal (d) requireda carabao-liver every meal. In e the hero's voracious appetite ismentioned. The hero in c "would eat everything in the house, leavingno food for his parents." Juan Tapon (f), when three years old, "usedto eat daily half a ganta of rice and a pound of meat, besides fish andvegetables;" the quantity of food he required increased steadily until,when he was fourteen, his parents could no longer support him. However,he never grew taller than a six-year-old boy. Dangandangan (g) couldwalk and talk the day he was born. He could eat one cavan of riceand one carabao daily. The hero of h was so greedy that by the timehe was a "young man" his father could no longer support him. He isdescribed as a "dwarf" In c and d there is nothing to indicate thatthe hero was not always a Tom Thumb in size.

Nearly all these details may be found duplicated in Maerchen of the"John the Bear" and "Strong Hans" types. For analogues, see FriedrichPanzer's Beowulf, pp. 28-33, 47-48, 50-52. In Grimm's story of the"Young Giant" (No. 90) the hero, when born, was only as big as a thumb,and for several years did not grow one hair's breadth. But a giantgot hold of him and suckled him for six years, during which time hegrew tall and strong, after the manner of giants. It is interestingto note that none of the nine Filipino versions make any reference toan animal parentage or extraordinary source of nourishment of the hero.

B The poverty of the parents is the motive for their attempts on hislife in a, c, d, e, f, h. In a the mother proposes the scheme; in h,the father; in g it is the boy's uncle, by whom he had been adoptedwhen his parents died. This "unnatural parents" motif is lacking inthe European variants.

B1-5 With the various attempts to destroy the hero may be discussed hisescapes (C1-3). The "falling-tree" episode occurs in all the storiesbut one (b). The events of this incident are conducted in variousways. In a, c, h, the hero is told to "catch the tree when it falls,"so that he can carry it home (in c the hero is pushed clear into theground by the weight of the tree). In d the father directs his son tostand in a certain place, "so that the tree will not fall on him;" butwhen Sandangcal sees that he is about to be crushed, he nimbly jumpsaside unobserved by his father, who thinks him killed. In f the treeis made to fall on the body of the sleeping hero. In g Darangdarang istold to stand beside the tree being cut: it falls on him. In all thestories but d the hero performs the feat of carrying home a tree on hisshoulders (C1). This episode is not uncommon in the European versions(see Panzer, op. cit., p. 35), but there the hero performs it whileout at service. By the process of contamination these two incidents(B1C1) have worked their way into another Filipino story not of ourcycle,--the Visayan story of "Juan the Student" (see JAFL 19 : 104).

B2 Of the other methods of putting an end to the hero's life, the"well" episode is the most common. In d and h father and son goto dig a well. When it is several metres deep, the father rainsstones on the boy, who is working at the bottom, and leaves himfor dead. In g the hero is sent down a well to find a lost ring;and while he is there, stones and rocks are thrown on him by histreacherous uncle. In all three the hero escapes, wiser, but nonethe worse, for his adventure (C3). This incident is very common inEuropean members of the cycle. Bolte and Polivka (2 : 288-292) noteits occurrence in twenty-five different stories.

B3 In our story of "Carancal," as has been remarked, and in e,the father commands his son to dive into deep water to see if thefishing-net is intact. Seeing blood and foam appear on the surfaceof the water, the father goes home, confident that he is rid of hisson at last; but not long afterward, when the parents are eating, thehero appears, carrying on his shoulder a huge crocodile he has killed(C2). Analogous to this exploit is Sandapal's capture of the king ofthe fishes, after his father has faithlessly pushed him overboard intothe deep sea (c). The hero's fight under water with a monstrous fish orcrocodile, the blood and foam telling the story of a desperate strugglegoing on, reminds one strongly of Beowulf's fight with Grendel's dam.

B4 In c, as a last resort, the father takes his son to the king,and has the best royal warrior fight the small boy. Sandapalconquers in five minutes. In f the father persuades his son toenter a wrestling-match held by the king. Juan easily throws all hisopponents. With this incident compare the Middle-English "Tale ofGamelyn" (ll. 183-270) and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" (act i,sc. ii).

B5 In a the father, at the instigation of his wife, pushes largerocks from a cliff down upon his son by the seashore; but the sonreturns home later, rolling an immense bowlder that threatens tocrush the house.

D, D1 Satisfied that he is no longer wanted at home, the hero setsout on adventures (a, g, h), taking along with him as a weapon a bolofive yards long (3), or a mighty bolo his father had given him,--sucha one that none but the hero could wield it (g), or a short stout club(h). In b the parents are not cruel to their son. The hero leaves homewith the kindest of feeling for his father. He carries along withhim an enormous top, so heavy that four persons could not lift it,and which, when spun, could be heard for miles; a long sword madeby a blacksmith; and a wooden sheath for it made by the father. Inthe European versions of the story the weapons of the hero play animportant part (see Panzer, 39-43). In c the story ends with the saleof Sandapal to the king. In d, after Sandangcal has escaped from thewell, he comes home at night, and, finding his parents asleep, shakesthe house. Thinking it is an earthquake, they jump from the windowsin terror, and are killed. (This incident is also told as a separatestory; see JAFL 20 : 305, No. 17.) After the hero has eaten up allthe livestock he had inherited by their death, he sells his propertyand sets out on his travels. In e the father sells his greedy son tomerchants. In f the parents finally give up attempts on their son'slife, and he goes away to join the army.

E The companions--Carancal (3), Cabagboc (b), Sandangcal (d), andDangandangan (g)--meet with extraordinary men, who accompany themon their travels. Cabagboc surpasses Cabual ("Breaker") and Cagabot("Uprooter") in a contest of skill, and they agree to go with him ashis servants. Dangandangan meets two strong men,--Paridis, who uprootsforests with his hands; and Aolo, [17] the mighty fisher for sharks,whose net is so large that weights as big as mortars are needed tosink it. But neither of these two can turn the hero's bolo over,hence they become his servants. Sandangcal (d), who nowhere in thestory displays any great strength, rather only craftiness and greed,meets one at a time three strong fellows, whom he persuades to go withhim by promising to double the sum they had been working for. These menare Mountain-Destroyer, who could destroy a mountain with one blow ofhis club; Blower, who could refresh the whole world with his breath;and Messenger, whose steps were one hundred leagues apart. This story,which seems to be far removed from the other tales of the group,has obviously been influenced by stories of the "Skilful Companions"cycle (see No. 11), where the hero merely directs his servants,doing none of the work himself. On the other hand, in 3, b, g, thewonderful companions are more or less impedimenta: the hero himselfdoes all the hard work; they are merely his foil. For the "Genossen"in other Maerchen of "John the Bear" type, see Panzer, 66-74; Cosquin,1 : 9, 23-27.

F1 The adventure with the demon in the house in the forest, relatedin 3, is not found in the other Filipino versions of the tale. Itis found in the Islands, however, in the form of a separate story,two widely different variants of which are printed below (4, [a]and [b]). This incident occurs in nearly all the folk-tales of the"John the Bear" type. Bolte and Polivka, in their notes to Grimm,No. 91 (2 : 301-315), indicate its appearance in one hundred andeighty-three Western and Eastern stories. As Panzer has shown (p. 77)that the mistreatment of the companions by the demon in the woodsusually takes place while the one left behind is cooking food for theothers out on the hunt, this motif might more exactly be called the"interrupted-cooking" episode than "Der Daemon im Waldhaus" (Panzer'sname for it). For Mexican and American Indian variants, see JAFL 25: 244-254, 255. Spanish and Hindoo versions are cited by Bolte andPolivka (2 : 305, 314).

It is pretty clear that the episode as narrated in our stories 3 and4 owes nothing to the Spanish variants mentioned by Bolte.

F2-5 The removal of an enormous stone is a task that Carancal hasto perform twice. This exhibition of superhuman strength is of apiece with the strong hero's other exploits, and has nothing incommon with the transplanting of mountains by means of magic. (F3)The removal of a monstrous decaying fish is found in b as well as in3. Cabagboc catches up the fish on the end of his sword, and hurlsthe carcass into the middle of the ocean. These exploits of therock and the fish are not unlike the feat of the Santal hero Gumda,who throws the king's elephant over seven seas (Campbell, 59). (F4)In b the task of slaying the man-eating giant falls upon Cabagboc,and his companion Uprooter, as the other comrade, Breaker, has beenmarried to the king's daughter. The giants are finally despatchedby the hero, who cuts off their heads with his sword. In g the twostrong men Paridis and Aolo are about to be slain by the man-eatinggiant against whom they have been sent by the hero to fight, when thehero suddenly appears and cuts off the monster's head with his mightybolo. (F5) The killing of a seven-headed dragon is a commonplace infolk-tales; a seven-headed man is not so usual. Cabagboc, after bothof his comrades have been given royal wives, journeys alone. He comesto a river guarded by a seven-headed man who proves invulnerable fora whole day. Then a mysterious voice tells the hero to strike themonster in the middle of the forehead, as this is the only place inwhich it can be mortally wounded. Cabagboc does so and conquers. (F6)The hero's wagering his strong men against a king's strong men willbe discussed in the notes to No. 11. The task of Pusong (a) has notbeen mentioned yet. After Pusong leaves home, he journeys by himself,and finally comes to a place where the inhabitants are feverishlybuilding fortifications against the Moros, who are threatening theisland. By lending his phenomenal strength, Pusong enables the peopleto finish their forts in one night. Out of gratitude they later makehim their leader. Months later, when the Moros make their raid, they